Las Vegas chimpanzee loose again

Las Vegas chimpanzee loose again

Young bonobos play together in the "Lola ya bonobo" park near Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nov. 4, 2006.

A pet chimpanzee escaped from her enclosure for the second time in a month, prompting Las Vegas officials to remove her from her home.

Animal Control officers had to use tranquilizer darts to sedate CJ, but didn't return her to her owners, according to ABC News. She was first transported to a zoo and then to another private citizen who offered to keep the chimp in a cage designed for large cats, like lions or tigers.

"This looks like we're complete idiots," Timmi DeRosa, who owned CJ, told ABC. "Like how the hell could the other chimp get out?"

Metro Police said they learned from their mistakes the last time CJ and her companion, Buddy, escaped on July 12, reported the Las Vegas Sun. The two chimpanzees ran loose and banged on the roofs of the cars of police and neighborhood residents. Police were eventually forced to kill Buddy when he got too close to people outside their homes who were watching the two chimps take over the Las Vegas neighborhood.

This time, CJ walked into a vacant home after being hit with a tranquilizer dart and fell asleep with her handler without incident, according to ABC. DeRosa said she thinks someone else opened CJ's cage because of the political discussion prompted by July's incident about banning exotic animals as pets.

"We have gotten calls that people want to let CJ out so they can pass the law in Las Vegas," said DeRosa, "and I just hope to God that nobody tampered with the cage."